Summary

• Despite fevered diplomatic activity culminating with US secretary of state Hillary Clinton's arrival in Jerusalem, no cease fire in the Gaza conflict materialized Tuesday. Tomorrow Clinton is to visit Cairo, where President Mohamed Morsi has been mediating between Israel and Hamas.

• The death toll in Gaza reached 133, according to a Palestinian health official's count as quoted by a BBC employee. Other counts put the number higher. The Sabbah report names 130 fatalities, including 18 from today. Three journalists and at least one child were among the fatalities in Gaza Tuesday.

• An Israeli soldier and a civilian were killed in a rocket strike east of Gaza, bringing the death toll in Israel to five. The IDF said more than 140 rockets were launched from Gaza Tuesday, causing a significant number of injuries.

• Militants executed six men in public in Gaza today, accusing them of collaborating with Israel. At least one of the men's bodies was dragged through the streets behind a motor bike.

•An Israeli strike hit the building housing the Agence France Presse offices in Gaza, and the IDF directed a warning to "stay away from Hamas" specifically at reporters.

• Jordanian king Abdullah spoke with Israeli premier Netanyahu on the phone and warned him against a ground invasion. Netanyahu said in a news conference with Clinton that Israel would spare no measure to protect its citizens.

As yet it's unclear how many of the 20-plus (possibly 30+) people killed in Gaza Tuesday were civilians.

In a Daily Beast piece this morning, Emily L. Hauser notes that "From the end of September 2000 through the end of September 2012, Israel was responsible for the deaths of 3,034 Palestinian noncombatants, of whom well more than a third were minors: 1,338."

The numbers are from B'Tselem, which will have to add to those totals when the present conflict is through.

I can no longer keep track of all the Israeli and American Jews who have contacted me in recent days to tell me (as if I might not have yet heard) that Hamas intentionally targets civilians, and Israel does not.

But when I look at those numbers, when I see the pictures of tiny, broken bodies pulled from utter destruction, when I see the wailing of fathers and mothers, their dead children wrapped in white shrouds, never to feel their parents’ arms around them again—I no longer care.

Incompetence or indifference, neither can be an excuse anymore. And in the meantime, more children die.

Updated at 10.04pm GMT

9.55pm GMT

5 Israelis killed in conflict, including soldier and civilian on Tuesday

Five Israelis have been killed since the latest round of full-scale hostilities began a week ago.

Three residents of an apartment building in Kiryat Malakhi were killed in a rocket strike last Thursday. Today an Israeli soldier, Joseph Partuk, 18, was killed in rocket strike near Eshkol.

The attack also killed one civilian, who, according to activist Abir Kopty, was a Bedouin man, Aleyan Alnabari, from the Naqab.

"Defense Ministry says civilian killed in mortar attack earlier Tuesday is Eliyan Salem el-Nabari, a ministry worker of Bedouin descent," Haaretz reports. "Two other workers were lightly wounded in the volley." The report locates the attack in the Eshkol area.

The IDF reports that 111 inside Israel were wounded on Tuesday alone, although it is unclear how it arrived at that number, which spokeswoman Avital Leibovich describes as "unbelievable but true."

More than 140 rockets were reportedly fired from the Gaza Strip toward southern Israel on Tuesday, of which 51 were said to have been intercepted by the Iron Dome system.

The Israeli Defense Forces reported strikes on 133 targets in Gaza Tuesday. The Iron Dome system intercepted 51 rockets fired from Gaza, according to the army, which said it had struck 1,500 targets in total since Wednesday.

Israel says it has hit a bank, a Hamas command center and safe house, a weapons storage site and factories in the last few hours, Haaretz reports.

9.15pm GMT

No cease-fire announcement as Clinton speaks in Jerusalem

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has just spoken at a news conference with Israeli PM Netanyahu.

There was no announcement of a cease-fire or truce agreement.

The two leaders are now holding a private meeting.

Clinton said there is an effort to "de-escalate" the situation to restore "a broader calm."

Clinton announces she will travel to Cairo tomorrow and will consult with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

"I want to thank President Obama, you, and the American government and people for their strong support of Israel in its hour of need," Netanyahu begins. He singles out the Iron Dome program for special appreciation.

Clinton says "President Obama asked me to come to Israel with a very clear message: America's commitment to Israel's security is rock solid and unwavering. That's why we believe it is essential to deescalate the situation in Gaza. The rocket attacks... must end, and a broader calm restored."[...]

"We appreciate [Egyptian] President [Mohamed] Morsi's personal leadership and Egypt's efforts thus far..." she says. "Egypt has the opportunity and responsibility to continue playing a crucial and constructive role in this process," Clinton says.

She says she is "very pleased" with the Iron Dome defense system, which she says is a good example of the US commitment to Israeli security.

"Today was a difficult day, and I offer my deepest condolences to those whose loved ones were lost and injured," she says. She mentions "civilians on both sides."

"In the days ahead, the US will work with our partners... toward an outcome that bolsters security for the people of Israel and improves conditions" in Gaza, she concludes.

Updated at 9.22pm GMT

9.09pm GMT

King Abdullah 'warns' Netanyahu against ground invasion

Jordanian king Abdullah called Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu today and "warned" him of ramifications of a further escalation in Gaza, Haaretz diplomatic correspondent Barak Ravid reports.

"The halting of the [military] escalation in all its forms what will open the way for diplomatic efforts and calm," Abdullah is quoted as saying. The king also spoke with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, "asking him to increase his efforts to achieve a cease-fire."

Updated at 9.10pm GMT

9.05pm GMT

US secretary of state Clinton and Israeli PM Netanyahu will hold a press conference tonight. It's now just past 11pm in Jerusalem.

Gregg Carlstrom (@glcarlstrom)

Reporters up in Jerusalem are waiting for an 11pm (!) press conference with Netanyahu and Hillary Clinton.

BuzzFeed's Zeke Miller looks at how the test of a second-term President Obama's support for Israel is playing out:

The test came fast, when Israeli reacted to a drumbeat of missile strikes by turning its firepower on the Gaza Strip within days of the election. And the American reaction has, so far, surprised those who expected a post-election pivot. And with the region hoping Hillary Clinton’s visit will bring a ceasefire, Israelis have so far had few complaints.

“If funding iron dome is Obama's way of throwing Israel under the bus, I am praying he will throw us under a train,” tweeted Israeli reporter Barak Ravid, who writes for the center-left newspaper Haaretz, referring to the American-backed missile defense system.

Updated at 8.56pm GMT

8.43pm GMT

An Israeli strike destroyed houses in Egypt near the Rafah border crossing, the Egypt Independent reports:

A security source said that Israeli F-16 fired missiles at tunnels and houses adjacent to the border.

“The armed forces stopped filling the tunnels due to the missile attack on the tunnels area,” the source added.

It was unclear from the report who was filling what tunnels. The report of destroyed houses inside Egypt has not been independently verified.

UPDATE: The Times of Israel reports the army is striking tunnels used for getting gas past the Gaza siege.

The Times of Israel (@TimesofIsrael)

The #IDF blows up four tunnels with pipelines used for smuggling gasoline between Gaza and Egypt. toi.sr/QVr169

Al-Jazeera interviewsbadly wounded survivors of the Hijazi family, whose home in the Jibaliya camp in northern Gaza was destroyed by an Israeli strike Monday, killing two young boys and the father. The strike came as the family watched TV:

JABALIYA REFUGEE CAMP: "For a split second I thought it had struck our neighbour’s home. The next thing I know, I’m waking up in hospital," said 19-year-old Nour Hijazi, lying in a hospital bed in Jabaliya’s Kamal Edwan Hospital with a shattered spine.

The Hijazi family, consisting of six boys and two girls, were sitting with their parents watching television on Monday evening when the Israeli missile hit their home, killing three of them, and seriously wounding the rest.

"I’m really angry and upset that my whole family were injured in this," she said.

Nour, in her final year at school, has yet to be told that her two brothers, four-year-old Mohammad and two-year-old Suhaib, and her father Fouad, were killed in the airstrike.

More details on the three al-Aqsa journalists killed today in Israeli strikes in Gaza, via Reuters:

Their deaths have sparked outrage among Gaza's press corps and also from Hamas, which accused Israel of trying to suppress coverage of Israeli attacks in the coastal enclave.

"The Israeli aggressors want to cut the picture and silence the voice of the brave people of Gaza. Journalism in Gaza plays a major, effective role in exposing the enemy's crimes to the world," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum told a news conference.

For its part, Israel says it takes pains only to strike combatants and warns civilians away from its strikes, which have killed over 125 Palestinians in six days of fighting, around half of them civilians, including around 30 children.

Atia Darwish tweets a picture of two Al-Aqsa photographers who were killed in their car, Mahmud Komi, left, and Hossam Salama.

From an Associated Press report on the execution today in Gaza of six suspected Israeli spies, at least one of whose bodies was tied to a motorbike and dragged in the streets:

Masked gunmen publicly shot dead six suspected collaborators with Israel in a large Gaza City intersection Tuesday, witnesses said. An Associated Press reporter saw a large mob surrounding five of the bloodied corpses shortly after the killing.

Some in the crowd stomped and spat on the bodies. A sixth corpse was tied to a motorcycle and dragged through the streets as people screamed, "Spy! Spy!"

The Hamas military wing, Izzedine al-Qassam, claimed responsibility in a large handwritten note attached to a nearby electricity pole. Hamas said the six were killed because they gave Israel information about fighters and rocket launching sites.

Palestinian gunmen ride motorcycles as they drag the body of a man, who was suspected of working for Israel, in Gaza City November 20, 2012. Photograph: SUHAIB SALEM

7.59pm GMT

The Washington Post has a slide showfrom the funeral of Salem Paul Sweliem in Gaza City. "According to the family, the 52-year-old Greek Orthodox Christian carpenter was killed during an Israeli airstrike on a high-rise building," the Post reports.

7.52pm GMT

This is strange. The correspondent for France 24 in Egypt is out for dinner at the swish Intercontinental hotel in Cairo and finds herself sitting next to ... Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal.

There are reports of Apache helicopters attacking in Gaza. @RanaGaza records one strike (in a recording that ends with what sounds like a child's cry). "Usually [the helicopters] stand still in the sky prior to an attack," she writes to @acarvin. "I believe they are targeting west of Gaza."

jesse rosenfeld (@jrosyfeild)

.@hughnaylor Saw a bunch of Apache's heading toward the #Gaza border above Ashkalon on Sunday, so they have them in the area

The current conflict could strengthen Hamas in Gaza, although it's unclear how long Hamas would succeed at preventing other groups from firing rockets in the event of a cease-fire, Hugh Naylor writes in the National:

But since Hamas fired hundreds of rockets in response to Israel's assassination of its top military commander last week, criticism from other militant groups in Gaza has softened - at least for now.

"It may take some time, but these tensions are bound to surface again," said Talal Okal, who lives in Gaza and is an independent analyst and expert on Hamas. "And this could mean just another cycle of violence like we've just experienced."

"These diplomatic gains strengthen Hamas's argument that it is an integral part of the future of the region, while the Palestinian Authority is part of the past," said Ghassan al-Khatib, an academic and a former spokesman for Abbas's PA.

Israel, meanwhile, has no chance for "victory," Roger Cohen writes in the New York Times:

Is all this good for Israel? No. Unless good is defined as policies that radicalize the situation, erode middle ground, demonstrate the impossibility of agreement, and so facilitate continued Israeli occupation of the West Bank, the expansion of settlements there and the steady eclipse of the idea of a two-state peace. This may well be Netanyahu’s criteria for a tactical victory from Operation Pillar of Defense (along with victory for Likud on Jan. 22.)

There will be no other Israeli “victory.” As Aluf Benn, editor in chief of the Israeli daily Haaretz, commented, “The assassination of Jabari will go down in history as another showy military action initiated by an outgoing government on the eve of an election.” Jabari, Benn argued, was in effect Israel’s point man in a money-for-truce exchange that worked imperfectly. Now, “Israel will have to find a new subcontractor to replace Ahmed Jabari as its border guard in the south.”

7.26pm GMT

Iran: Palestinians 'must be equipped'

Iran's foreign minister said Tuesday that Palestinians should be "equipped" to defend themselves against Israel, Reuters reports:

But on Tuesday, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast refused to comment directly on whether Iran was supplying Hamas with the Fajr-5 rockets.

"The question of which country has produced these missiles is best discussed by military officials who have expertise in this matter," Mehmanparast was quoted as saying by the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA).

"What is important is that the people of Palestine must be equipped to defend themselves, and it is the responsibility of all countries to defend the rights of the people of Palestine."

7.11pm GMT

Rana Baker in Gaza City records a round of heavy strikes moments ago. The incessant sound of drones is punctuated by a jet flying through and the thud of explosions, which pick up in frequency as the recording progresses.

She records the time of attack as Nov. 20 8:50 pm.

Nour Samaha is a reporter for Al-Jazeera English.

Nour Samaha (@Nour_Samaha)

I can actually see the line of fire coming in from Israeli navy into #Gaza

Hence Israel’s interest in an early ceasefire. Its generals have offered to hold fire if Hamas does, and Mr Netanyahu has sent as his chief negotiator, Yitzhak Molcho, to Cairo to negotiate terms. But Hamas is pressing for a more formal arrangement, including guarantees that Israel will halt assassinations and normalise trade relations. It wants Israel to lift its land and sea blockade, and restore access to what were hitherto its primary markets in the West Bank and Israel. It also wants Egypt to re-open the border crossing at Rafah to goods traffic.

6.58pm GMT

My colleague Mona Mahmood has been speaking with Gaza residents by phone. She has interviewed Hanan Abdul Razaq, who talks about life under fire and her hopes for a truce:

People were talking on the telephone about a truce at 5 pm today, but nothing on the ground. Rockets keep falling all the time. I hope there will be a truce to stop the bloodshed and shelling of the houses in Gaza. But they are only fairy tales.

Can you believe it, the world is celebrating Children's Day today, and the Palestinian children are smashed under the Israeli machine guns now. I do not have power now to watch the TV and get updated on the latest developments. Power is given to us for six hours only. I seize the opportunity when the power is on to do many things as quickly as possible, like making bread, food for the children and other things.

I have four kids and it is really difficult to keep them quiet during the bombardment. The shelling is completely abnormal, it feels like an earthquake. The whole building where my flat is feels like it is moving when a bomb falls. I feel as if the building does not have a foundation and is disconnected from the ground. I do not know what will happen to us, but I and my family are not considering leaving. I know some people who started to flee to other supposedly safe areas, but I do not think there is any.

People are not going to work. Kids are not going to school - in fact UNRWA has opened its schools to the families who needs shelters or lost their houses in the bombardment.

Till now we have water but I do not know if this will last for long. I remember in the war of 2008, we had water in the first week and then it was cut. Also it is not that easy to get vegetables as most of the farmers are at the outskirts of Gaza, and who dares to leave his house? Some people did not get their salaries yet, and have no money to buy food and other basic things. Few shops are opened for people to get food or other materials they need, especially shops that are opened within the houses.

It is difficult for people to reach a pharmacy or a hospital and some of the people who live at the suburbs of Gaza are coming to the centre now, thinking it is safer. It is really hard to predict what the coming days will bring with them but we have great faith in God to protect us and bring peace to Gaza.

6.45pm GMT

The Guardian's Chris McGreal reports intensified strikes in north Gaza.

US: Turkish rhetoric 'not helpful'

Hama's Al-Qassam Brigades tweets a picture of Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoğlu crying over a dead body in Gaza on his visit there today with the Arab League delegation.

Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quoted yesterday as calling Israel a "terrorist state." Relations between the two countries soured when an Israeli assault on a flotilla attempting to deliver aid to Gaza in May 2010 killed nine Turkish nationals.

My colleague Ewen MacAskill reports that the Obama administration has protested to the Turkish government over "harsh" comments by Erdogan labelling Israel a terrorist state:

The complaint direct from the US state department to the Turkish government comes in spite of the countries being allies and Washington being dependent on Turkey, along with Egypt and Qatar, to try to help broker an Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire.

Victoria Nuland, the state department spokeswoman, in the daily briefing in Washington, was reluctant to condemn Erdogan's comment on Monday but was unequivocal in her reaction Tuesday.

She said the US had made its position clear. "Some of the extremely harsh rhetoric coming from Turkey we do not regard as helpful at all and we have made this clear to the Turkish governnment," Nuland said.

Updated at 6.43pm GMT

6.36pm GMT

There are reports of Israeli cross-border fire into northern Gaza.

Erin Cunningham (@erinmcunningham)

more intense shelling on #Gaza City. Know this is getting old, but they're LOUD and close...

Summary

•As diplomatic efforts to produce a cease-fire continued in Cairo and Jerusalem, Israeli strikes on Gaza continued. Palestinian reports put the death toll in Gaza at 135 since last Wednesday.

•An Israeli soldier based in Eshkol east of Gaza died in a rocket attack. Haaretz reports that a civilian was killed as well. An unknown number were wounded.

•A Hamas spokesman said a cessation deal of some kind had been agreed to, but Israeli officials said there was no agreement. The discrepancy may spring from the difference between a cease-fire and a longer-term agreement addressing each side's major demands. Diplomatic activity continued as UN secretary general Ban ki-Moon met with Israeli president Shimon Peres in Jerusalem.

•US secretary of state Hillary Clinton was due in Jerusalem this evening to meet with Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu. President Obama spoke with Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi three times over the course of 24 hours. A delegation of foreign ministers and the Arab League chief visited Gaza today.

• An Israeli strike on a vehicle killed two journalists for Hamas' Al-Aqsa station. There were reports that a third journalist for Al-Aqsa, the "head of educational radio," had also been killed.

•Israeli dropped leaflets over large portions of Gaza warning residents to evacuate border areas and stay away from Hamas. Thousands took shelter in UN-run schools. Thousands more have not evacuated. Hamas leaders told fighters to prepare for an Israeli ground incursion.

My colleague Ewen MacAskill reports that in its daily briefing the State Department talked about paths forward in the Gaza conflict that did not entail a full cease-fire:

Victoria Nuland, the state department spokeswoman, said the US would welcome any "de-escalation as a step forward". She was careful to avoid saying that it had to be a full ceasefire. She said she would not go beyond that because "the talks are still going on and we are going to be part of that."

6.13pm GMT

Israeli civilian killed in Eshkol attack – Haaretz

An Israeli civilian was also killed in the attack on Eshkol, Haaretz reports.

Civilian also killed in mortar attack on Eshkol Regional Council earlier in the day (Gili Cohen)

Other reports indicate many civilians may have been wounded in the attack.

Reuters' Matthew Keys is watching US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland's briefing on Gaza. She says that " "All of the parties involved have expressed a preference to solve this...peacefully."

Matthew Keys (@TheMatthewKeys)

U.S. State Dept.'s Nuland on Gaza conflict: "Intensive diplomacy is ongoing."

A Jerusalem Post headline from today, "Sirens causing some pets to suffer from anxiety," has precipitated an outpouring of disgust and frustration at its preoccupation with animal nerves while human blood is being spilled.

If Hamas and Israeli officials seem to be saying two different things, Beaumont writes – it might be because they are:

When we say “ceasefire” in English in the context of ending a conflict we tend to know what we mean, a negotiated settlement to bring an end to hostilities. In recent context of conflicts between Israel and Palestinian factions there is another more nuanced concept that can cause problems.

That is the notion of the hudna – an armistice or calm. A hudna is more like the word truce in English. While it implies an end of violence it does not necessarily require either side to give up their claims. It can be long but does not imply a resolution of either the causes of the conflict or a peace agreement.

Its historical and religious basis was a 10-year treaty struck by the Prophet Mohammed. It carries with it the obligation to seek a permanent resolution and cessation of hostilities.

In the context of the history of hostilities between Hamas and Israel, Hamas has offered previous hudnas which have led to periods of at least relative calm.

Where the confusion may have been introduced in the reporting of the “ceasefire” is that before the outbreak of hostilities a longer-term more formal ceasefire had been under negotiation. That long-term ceasefire proposal, which Israeli Prime Minister Bionyamin Netanyahu has said Israel could be a “willing partner in”, is back on the table.

The question right now is which concept is being discussed. When Hamas spokesman in Cairo Ayman Taha spoke on Tuesday he referred to a “calm.” My own understanding of where the negotiations were when Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi – one of the principal intermediaries – spoke is that he was referring to the fighting stopping. Other issues, it has been implied – such as the lifting of the economic blockade on Gaza, and both sides seeking guarantees – would be dealt with in due course in ceasefire negotiations.

This suggestion of a two-stage process, however, does not have the support of all within Hamas or the Palestinian factions, perhaps, explaining the televised intervention of Mohamed Deif, Hamas's military commander in Gaza, when he said his men were preparing for a ground invasion.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, as always in conflict, a large degree of uncertainty remains.

Updated at 5.36pm GMT

5.24pm GMT

Haaretz's diplomatic correspondent reports that Israeli officials "are taking now a very hard line" on a potential cease-fire:

Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid)

Israeli officials are taking now a very hardline: "there is no Israeli agreement on any draft cease fire understandings"

Tom McCarthy here in New York, with this dispatch from Guardian Washington bureau chief Ewen MacAskill, who reports on the latest contact between President Obama and Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. Obama praised Morsi for his involvement:

Obama is flying back from Camodia to Washington. During the flight, he spoke to Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi for the third time in less than 24 hours.

Acknowledging the pivotal role of the Egyptian government in negotiating the ceasefire, Obama repeatedly praised Morsi.

The White House national security spokesman, Ben Rhodes, said: “President Obama underscored once again the importance of working for a de-escalation to the conflict in Gaza. He commended president Morsi’s efforts to pursue a de-escalation."

Rhodes added: "He also underscored that president Morsi’s efforts reinforce the important role that president Morsi and Egypt play on behalf of regional security and the pursuit of broader peace between the Palestinians and Israelis.”

Obama had spoken to Morsi immediately after a dinner with Asian leaders Phnom Penh and again at 2.30 am Cambodia time.

Rhodes reiterated that any resolution has to involve the cessation of rocket fire into Israel and warned of dire consequences if this did not happen. “Without an end to rocket fire into Israel from Gaza, Israel can’t be assured of the security of its people,” he said. He warned of “significant loss of life” if the situation cannot be de-escalated.

Meanwhile group of foreign ministers including Mohamed Amr of Egypt and Arab League head Nabil Elaraby has just crossed into Gaza in a sign of solidary.

Egyptian foreign minister Mohamed Amr speaks to media at a border crossing into Gaza, in a screen grab from Al-Jazeera. Photograph: Al-Jazeera

Haaretz says senior Israeli officials close to the negotiations hope "the deal's last points will be finalized in a meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, due to take place at 10pm".

Palestinian People's Party official Walid al-Awad said Israel is asking for a halt to rockets for 48 hours in exchange for stopping airstrikes as a first stage of a truce deal.

In the second stage, Israel promised to study factions' other demands, including lifting the blockade, stopping all military operations, and ending the targeting of Palestinian fishermen off Gaza's coast, al-Awad said.

Updated at 4.39pm GMT

3.50pm GMT

Leaflets

This Google map shows some of the areas Gazans have been told to evacuate, in leaflets dropped by the Israeli air force. Click on the pointers to see the name of the areas.

This fight is temporary and the end of it you will all return to your homes. By following these orders you will not be harmed.

Updated at 3.51pm GMT

3.23pm GMT

Attacks on northern Gaza

Northern Gaza has been hit by Israeli rockets and shelling on and off during the day, Chris McGreal reports from the area.

The attacks were intermingled with leaflet drops which at first generally warned Palestinians to stay away from Hamas, but then a second wave of leaflets told people in some areas to immediately evacuate their houses.

Palestinians were unsure whether that meant there will be an intensified air and tank bombardment or a ground invasion, before an anticipated ceasefire comes into effect.

Many families made for UN-run schools closer to Gaza City in the hope that they would be not be protected from attack, although Palestinians are generally resigned to the fact that almost nowhere is safe.

If Israel is planning a last minute ground offensive, it may be a limited one aimed at seizing open areas in the north of the Gaza Strip from which many of the rockets have been launched toward Israel.

But whether or not a ceasefire is in the offing, the killing continues.

The victims included Suhaib and Mohammed Hejazi, aged 3 and 4, and their father Fuad, killed when an Israeli missile hit their house in Beit Lahiya as they were sleeping. The boys' mother, Amna, was badly wounded.

At the funeral procession through the streets of Beit Lahiya, the boys were swaddled in white cloth and Hamas flags. They might have been mistaken for sleeping if it weren't for the bruising and cuts to their faces.

Palestinians carry the bodies of two boys, Suhaib and Mohammed Hejazi, during their funeral in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday. The two children and their father Fuad Hejazi were killed when an Israeli air strike crushed their home on Monday, the Hamas health ministry said. Photograph: Mohamed Salem/Reuters

3.09pm GMT

'Israel targeting civilans'

Samir Zaqout, Gaza resident and head of the al Mezan centre for Human Rights, describes how he tries to comfort his five children during Israeli bombardment.

Speaking to Mona Mahmood he said:

The whole house shakes when the shelling starts. It is terrifying. Death feels very close. The children get even more scared when they watch the news.

I try to distract their attention by telling them stories or playing card with them. I keep telling them that our house is safe, and that there is no sensitive site near us. I do my best to comfort the kids but I’m terrified myself.

There is no sign of any ceasefire.

Despite the highly sophisticated intelligence of the Israeli forces, they are deliberately targeting civilians

Initially they targeted government buildings and training sites for resistance brigades, but now, most of the victims are civilians.

They are trying to terrify civilians rather than achieve military goals.

More than 43 houses have been targeted by the Israeli forces so far. Most of these houses (31) were pre-warned with small rockets dropped by drones. Some people were lucky enough to leave in time others could not. Children have been killed by these warning rockets when playing outside houses.

When the Israeli forces targeted the police headquarters in the centre of the city, they used rockets of massive destruction that destroyed houses around the building. They knew this would happen.

As soon as it gets dark here, they shoot anything that moves. Any movements even at the early evening hours, will expose you to the risk of being killed or injured. A child and his uncle were shot in the early evening when they went out to check on the boy’s grandfather.

Some people trust the Israeli drones and think they only hit military targets, but civilians are not safe.

Palestinians inspect the destroyed house of the Hejazi family hit during an Israeli air strike in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday. Photograph: Ali Ali/EPA

Meanwhile, UNRWA has accused the Israeli Defence Forces of making false allegations against it.

It says:

On 17 November 2012 at 10.16pm, the Israeli Defense Forces tweeted from their official Twitter account (@IDFSpokesperson) a link to a video hosted on their official YouTube channel, featuring an animated film that depicts militants firing rockets from a school clearly marked with the UNRWA insignia.

UNRWA is concerned about the creation and use of footage that wrongly suggests that UNRWA is allowing its premises to be used for terrorist activities in the current conflict and the unauthorised use of its logo in computer-generated material. In a situation of conflict these allegations have potentially grave consequences. UNRWA takes with utmost seriousness the neutrality of its installations, particularly in times of heightened violence.

Syria

Britain has recognised the newly united Syrian opposition as the "sole legitimate representative" of the Syrian people and pledged new aid in the uprising against Bashar al-Assad.

William Hague made the announcement in a statement to MPs. It marks a significant shift in British policy and follows a similar move by France last week. It also goes beyond a more cautious endorsement by the EU.

The foreign secretary said he had sought and received "important and encouraging" assurances from the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces on agreeing a detailed political transition plan for Syria, as well as showing a "clear commitment to human rights and international humanitarian law, including the protection of religious communities and unfettered and safe access for humanitarian agencies".

The National Coalition "have much to do to win the full support of the Syrian people and coordinate opposition efforts more effectively," Hague said. "But it is strongly in the interests of Syria, of the wider region, and of the United Kingdom that we support them and deny space to extremist groups," he added ...

It will be invited to appoint a "political representative" – in effect an ambassador – to the UK. Britain is also to provide a £1m package of communications support, "which could for instance include mobile internet hubs and satellite phones to improve the coalition's ability to communicate inside Syria," Hague said.

Britain is to "urgently deploy" a stabilisation response team to help the coalition meet people's basic needs in opposition-held areas, he said. The team will recommend areas for further UK assistance. The new package of UK support is worth around £2m in immediate commitments which could be expanded "considerably" in the coming months.

The foreign secretary said nothing about arming the rebels, but added that, in the absence of a political and diplomatic solution, "we will not rule out any option in accordance with international law that might save innocent lives in Syria and prevent the destabilisation of a region that remains critical to the security of the United Kingdom and the peace of the whole world".

1.44pm GMT

What truce?

Despite the talk of an imminent truce, the two sides continue to exchange fire.

"President Mohamed Morsi announced that the farce of Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip will end on Tuesday," Egyptian state news agency Mena said, quoting public remarks made by the country's head of state after the funeral of his sister.

"The efforts to conclude a truce between the Palestinian and Israeli sides will produce positive results in the next few hours," he was quoted as saying.

1.13pm GMT

Truce?

The Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi, says he expects Israeli "aggression" to end today, with talks with both sides on a truce yielding "positive results" in the next few hours, Reuters reports, citing the Egyptian state news agency, Mena.

1.12pm GMT

Cairo talks

Diplomats are hopeful of temporary deal to end the fighting in Gaza but a long term solution looks remote, Peter Beaumont reports from the negotiations in Cairo.

Those attending the talks anticipate there will be a lull in the hostilities, at the very least, he said in a telephone update.

It would be unusual for a US secretary of state to travel to the region without the real prospect of a deal being done - usually such high level visits occur at the end of negotiations, Peter said.

While people say they are cautiously optimistic there is plenty of room for risk.

Hamas entered talks looking for an end to political assassinations and a lifting of the blockade against Gaza

Diplomats told Peter that Hamas may be prepared to delay discussion about lifting the blockade as long as there are guarantees of future talks on the issue.

And despite signs of progress the language of many involved has still be “bellicose”, Peter said.

Mohamed Daif, the Hamas military commander, has given a given an aggressive statement claim his troops are ready to fight if there is ground invasion. While the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has accused Israel of genocide, he pointed out.

Total number of Israelis killed by rocket, mortar or anti-tank fire from Gaza since 2006: 47(Source: Wikipedia. This is disputed; another source says 26)

Number of Palestinians in Gaza killed by Israeli fire from April 1st 2006 to July 21st 2012: 2,879(Source: United Nations)

Palestinians carry the body of Osama Shehada, 17, during his funeral in the Nuseirat Refugee Camp, central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, 20 November, 2012. Shehada was killed in an Israeli air strike on Monday while walking with his uncle in the camp, neighbours said. Photograph: Adel Hana/AP

Jerusalem

An explosion has been heard after rocket warning sirens were sounded in Jerusalem, Reuters reports.

There was some bemusement when a rocket landed outside Jerusalem on Friday as the city is is home to the al-Aqsa mosque, Islam's third holiest site, and to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. Palestinians envisage East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

12.16pm GMT

View from Ashkelon

Once the rocket sirens are sounded in Ashkelon, Israelis have just 30 seconds to get to a bomb shelter or safe room, Harriet Sherwood reports from the coastal city. If they can’t reach safety they are instructed to lay flat on the ground until the all-clear is given.

But there have been no attacks on the city this morning and Israelis now have more confidence because of the success rate of the Iron Dome rocket defence system, she said.

It is very difficult for the residents here, but having spent four days in Gaza recently, there is no where near the same level of activity.

Israelis are in love with the Iron Dome. They do feel that this is there great protector. This has concerned some people in authority because they fear that citizens will not take shelter in the ways they have been instructed because they feel Iron Dome is going to intercept the rockets and save them.

It does have quite a good success rate so the confidence is not entirely misplaced.

The sense of urgency among troops at the border has decreased in the last two days, Harriet added. Reservists are sitting around sipping cappuccinos and getting bored, she said.

Residents in Ashkelon are anticipating some form of truce, Harriet said.

The fact that Hillary Clinton is on her way to the region signifies that we are getting closer to a ceasefire. There has been rocket fire out of Gaza this morning, and the Israeli bombardment of Gaza is continuing although perhaps less intensely than for the last few days.

I think there will be some kind of ceasefire or progress towards that. I don’t think Clinton would be coming if she wasn’t confident that there was something pretty bankable on the table. But obviously that can all go pretty badly wrong if there is a dramatic development in the next few hours. There is progress but I think it is still pretty much on a knife edge.

12.14pm GMT

Rocket fire

The Israeli Defence Forces have told the BBC that 90 rockets have been fired from Gaza today, with 51 intercepted and 39 hitting Israel. They say the IDF have targeted 100 sites in Gaza today. Some of the rockets hit Beersheba, where the house below was struck.

Sapir Hachmon (C) is consoled by her boyfriend (C-R) as she reacts while entering her bedroom which was destroyed when a rocket fired from Gaza hit and struck a hole in her family's house, in the southern city of Beersheba, Israel, 20 November 2012. Photograph: Abir Sulatn/EPA

Gaza's victims

Haaretz's Amira Hass writes that among the 34 Palestinians killed in Israel Defence Forces attacks in the past two days, just six have been confirmed as members of militant groups.

The victims include "farmers on their way to sell vegetables in the marketplace, vendors of purified drinking water and people who just happened to live too close to the targets of Israeli air strikes".

She writes that, since the start of the Israeli military operation, at least 58 civilians have been killed in Gaza, at least 18 of them children. Hass says the figures have been gathered by gathered by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, the al-Mezan Centre for Human Rights and medical sources in Gaza. She writes:

At about 2am yesterday, the IAF (Israeli air force) fired warning rockets at an empty home in the Zeitun neighborhood. The building exploded about a minute later, trapping members of the neighboring Abu Zur family inside their home and killing a 5-year-old boy, Mahmad Iyad Fuad Abu Zur, along with two men and a woman: Ahad Hamdi Samil Katati, 38; Sahar Fadi Assad Abu Zur, 21; and Nasma Halmi Salam Abu Zur, also 21.

Twenty-eight family members were injured in the attack and 20 homes were partly damaged.

In addition to the nearly 100 Palestinians killed since Pillar of Defence began, some 700 Palestinians have been wounded in that time, including at least 215 children.

An estimated 585 buildings have been damaged in the explosions, including 46 that were totally demolished, according to al-Mezan.

11.30am GMT

Hamas defiant

In a rare audio recording, broadcast on Hamas TV, the head of Hamas's military wing, Mohamed Deif, has urged his troops to keep fighting and to prepare for a ground invasion. There was no mention of a ceasefire.

11.19am GMT

Hebron funeral

The funeral is for Hamdy Al-Fallah, 22, who was shot dead by Israeli troops while protesting against the military assault on Gaza. Medics told AFP Fallah was killed in an area where there no clashes were taking place between protesters and troops.

Syrian rebel gains

The fighters had captured more than half the base at Sheikh Suleiman 20 miles northwest of Aleppo, and fighting was still taking place it said.

"The fighters have taken three artillery pieces and have entered most of the base. Fighter jets are flying over the area to try and force them out," said Abu Mujahed al-Halabi, an activist with the opposition Sham News Network.

A rebel source said the fighters took large stocks of explosives from the site and will withdraw quickly to avoid the retaliatory air strikes that have blunted their advance across the country.

Crossing closed

The Israeli Defence Forces say 120 trucks carrying food and aid were ready to enter Gaza today but Hamas began firing at the crossing. As a result, only 24 of the trucks entered before the crossing was closed, they say.

Updated at 11.10am GMT

10.45am GMT

Diplomacy

Russia says it and the US are backing Egypt's attempt to broker a truce in Gaza.

Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov held talks with Hillary Clinton in Phnom Penh before she left for Jerusalem.

Russia's foreign ministry tweeted:

MFA Russia (@MFA_Russia)

#Lavrov: Ms #Clinton and I agreed that Egypt and other countries' peacekeeping efforts in the #Gaza Strip should receive our support

One of the differences is that Miliband is now free to criticise Israel:

The loss of life and property fuels hatred. The bombing marginalises the Palestinian Authority, and its president, who are Israel’s notional negotiating partners. And it entrenches the separate legitimacy, authority and status of the “Government of Hamas” (apparently Ehud Barak used this phrase) in Gaza. It only makes sense if a two state solution is dead and buried.

He added: "Neither siege nor bombing is going to topple Hamas."

Updated at 10.48am GMT

9.41am GMT

Stabbing at US embassy in Tel Aviv

A security guard at the US embassy in Tel Aviv has been stabbed by an intruder, Reuters reports citing Israeli police.

The attacker, who was armed with a knife and an axe, has been arrested.

A police spokesman said the said the guard opened fire during the attack. Israel Radio said the attacker was wounded.

Updated at 9.42am GMT

9.24am GMT

Turkey and patriot missiles

Turkey says it is close to securing a patriot missiles defence system, Reuters reports.

Foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a news conference:

The countries who supply Nato with Patriot systems are known, we have reached an agreement with those countries. The official application will be completed as soon as possible. Intensive work is underway and the talks have reached the final stage.

Fleeing residents said the fighting was between the opposition Free Syrian Army and Kurds affiliated with the Democratic Union Party (PYD), a Syrian Kurdish party with links to Kurdish separatist fighters in Turkey.

9.00am GMT

Diplomacy

The UN secretary general has made a fresh call for truce as US officials confirm Hillary Clinton is on her way to Jerusalem.

On his visit to Cairo, AP quotes Ban Ki-Moon as saying: "This must stop, immediate steps are needed to avoid further escalation, including a ground operation."Ban met Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby and will meet with Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi before heading to Israel later in the day.

A senior official has confirmed to Reuters that Clinton has left Cambodia and is heading for Jerusalem for talks on ending the crisis.

The White House said Clinton was going to the Middle East for talks in Jerusalem, Ramallah and Cairo to try to calm the conflict.

A delegation of nine Arab ministers, led by the Egyptian foreign minister, were due in Gaza later on Tuesday in a further signal of heightened Arab solidarity with the Palestinians.

Meanwhile, the fighting continues:

Hamas militants said they fired 16 missiles at the southern Israeli city of Beersheba after Israel's military targeted roughly 100 sites in Gaza overnight, including ammunition stores and the Gaza headquarters of the National Islamic Bank.

Some 110 Palestinians have died in a week of fighting, the majority of them civilians, including 27 children. Three Israelis died last week when a Gaza missile struck their house.

8.41am GMT

Summary

Welcome to Middle East Live. Diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire are intensifying as both US secretary of state Hillary Clinton and UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon are due for talks in Jerusalem.

Hamas wants a guarantee from Israel that it would end "targeted assassinations" of the kind that killed Ahmed al-Jaabari last Wednesday. It would also need pledges about opening crossing points into Egypt and Israel – effectively lifting the five year blockade. Israel is insisting at a minimum on stopping the cross-border rocket fire which has united public opinion behind Operation Defensive Pillar. Israeli casualties have been low because the weapons are inaccurate and many of them were quickly destroyed.

Israel has successfully targeted in excess of 1,300 weapons caches, rocket launchers and other elements of Hamas's terrorist infrastructure. Yet despite this, the number of Palestinian casualties remains around one for every 13 strikes, the majority killed being active members of Hamas and combatants.